Evaluation of an MR Anatomically Guided PET Reconstruction in Characterizing Multiple Sclerosis Lesions

Motivation: Bowsher CNN, an MRI anatomic-guided PET reconstruction method, can provide high-resolution PET images. It is unknown how it may affect lesion characterization in MS patients. Goal(s): Evaluate PET signal without or with Bowsher CNN in various MS lesions. Approach: FLAIR images defined WMH lesions and NAWM. WMH lesions were further separated into “T1-hypo” and “T1-iso” sub-categories based on T1 intensity. 18F-FDG SUVs were obtained from various lesion ROIs. Results: The SUV differences between WMH and NAWM and between T1-hypo and T1-iso lesions became lower and higher, respectively, after applying Bowsher CNN. Impact: Bowsher CNN PET reconstruction results in high-resolution PET images. SUV differences between WMH and NAWM became smaller, while the SUV differences between T1-hypo and T1-iso, two WMH subcategories, were larger after applying Bowsher CNN.